Chapter 4: A Pinch of Danger, A Dash of Fun

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Draco

"Good night, Draco." I heard her say even through the closed door, causing me to chuckle. She's really strange. She's sarcastic and polite at the same time; she could be a total know-it-all and be a nervous blabbering wreck at the next; and, only she has the guts to talk to me like that. Most of the girls at school always stutter, blush, and/or swoon when they talk to me. So I just ignored them. But this girl is different. I can see that she's smart, open-minded, and I have this feeling that I'm going to like Pyxis Raine Steller.

"Draco." I opened my eyes and saw my mother.

"What is it?"

"We have company, they can't see Pyxis here." She said in a hurry handing me a bag.

I grabbed my wand from under my pillow, got the bag from her and went in the room next door, not even bothering to knock. Them coming and seeing a strange girl in one of our guest rooms is not good.

"Pyxis." I shook her awake but to my surprise, she swung a punch at me. Good thing I tilted my head just in time to avoid it. She sat up and rubbed her eyes like a child would.

"Oh. What is it?" She asked when she saw me.

"We have to leave now." I saw my mother flit around the room, grabbing things for Pyxis.

"What time is it?" Pyxis, still half-asleep, got up and asked.

"Around 3am. Grab your wand." I said then went to her closet. I got a black cloak and handed it to her.

"This should be enough." Mother handed her a dark green satchel.

"To Blaise's?" I asked.

"No. Go to Diagon Alley. But do not show yourselves…"

I nodded.

"Someone will come over for you tomorrow. You'll know who it is." She gave the two of us a hug.

"Be careful. Watch out for each other." Then she guided us out of the manor through the back. She let us on our own when we're going to pass the mini labyrinth.

While walking, I couldn't help but notice Pyxis looked skeptically at the lake we have in our backyard.

"What's the matter?" She looked at me.

"Nothing." She replied a little too fast.

"If you say so." I said, effectively dropping the subject. It's none of my business.

The rest of the walk was quiet. When it was far enough, I decided that it was safe to ride a broom. I got my Nimbus 2001 from my expansion charmed bag and put it on the ground. I stretched my arm and the broom automatically went to my hand. I let the broom hover and stepped aside.

"Ladies first."

"Uhh… Okay." She mounted the broom. I could feel that she is nervous, but didn't comment on it.

"I mounted behind her, securing myself, before kicking off. If Pyxis was nervous before, she certainly isn't now. I could practically feel her smile.

"I never thought I could actually experience riding a broom." I just stayed silent because I know she'll end up telling me something about her or ask about something random.

"What house do you think I'll be in if I get sorted?" Something random, then.

"I don't know. Slytherin?" I replied, half unsure and the other half hoping for it to be true.

"You think I'll fit into Slytherin?" I smirked.

"I think you have the Slytherin ambition somewhere in you." She laughed, but stopped abruptly, as if she remembered something.

"Draco, what if-"she trailed off, and then added, "Never mind, it's nonsense. You'll probably laugh."

"Oh now you have to tell me, you have piqued my interest." She hesitated, but asked her question anyway.

"If I do get sorted in Slytherin, do you think I can make the Quidditch team?"

"Well, what do you know about Quidditch?" Then she goes and explains the whole sport. She explained the rules, what each player does, and even added bits of history. To say that I'm impressed is a massive understatement. I only know half of what she just said.

"Hell, if I run the try-outs, I'm making you captain." And that is a very honest answer.

The next thing she said, however, made me skid to a sudden halt.

"The thing is… I don't know how to ride a broom… Oi! Don't you dare laugh, Malfoy. Not from this part of the world, remember?"

I almost laughed at her remark, but held it in. I still fear for my life, thank you.

"I didn't. If you want to join, we should do something about that." Before she could get a word in, I flew down and got off the broom. She did the same, confused. I set the broom down.

"Well, I trust you know the first step."

"You mean you're going to teach me?" I just nodded and gestured for her to go on with the first step. She raised her hand over the broom and said "up". The broom went to her hand immediately.

"Not bad, for your first try. Now you can mount the broom." She followed my instructions then kicked off and hovered about 3 feet above the ground.

"Now what?"

"Lean forward a bit, that's right. Keep your back straight. Go on then, fly."

She tried moving little by little, until she got the hang of it. In 5 minutes, she's 9 feet off the ground flying in circles. I can hear her laugh; I can't help but smile a little at the scene. I was pulled out of my thoughts when she landed in front of me.

"That was so fun!" She exclaimed.

"Well, come on. I think that's enough for you to be accepted in a team. Let's get going." We took our previous places on the broom and continued on our way.

Not too far from the clearing we practiced in, we arrived at a small village. I pulled my wand out to call for the Knight Bus.

Then we hear a rustle of leaves and we both directed our wands to the sound. I heard her gasp while looking at the bushes.

"A huge black dog." She muttered.

Before we could ponder more on that, two flashes of lights came from the end of the road. The Knight Bus parked in front of us and its doors opened, revealing the conductor.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus. Emergency transportation for stranded witches and wizards. I'm Stan Shunpike, I will be your conductor this evening."

I didn't say anything and just helped Pyxis up the bus.

"Where to?"

"Leaky Cauldron, London" We both sat on one of the beds.

"Leaky Cauldron. Take 'er away Ern." We zoomed pass the muggle vehicles and arrived 10 minutes later. I paid a few galleons and we went on our way.

"What are we doing sneaking in Flourish & Blotts?" Pyxis panicked as I was opening the door to the store. I held out the keys I'm holding for her to see.

"You own this?"

"Not the store. The flat upstairs." I explained and we went inside.

The flat is spacious. The sitting room is carpeted. It has a couch, two armchairs, and a coffee table in the middle. Beside the sitting room is the dining room that consists of a large wooden table and six matching dining chairs. Across the dining room is an L-shaped kitchen. But despite the large space, the flat has no bedroom.

"You take the couch." I took the comforter from under the couch and laid it on the floor. I got pillows and blankets and handed some of it to Pyxis.

"Why doesn't the flat have a bedroom?"

"We don't use it much, only for when we get tired of shopping."

"Good night, Draco." I saw that she's already settled and has her eyes closed.

"Good night." With that, we drifted to sleep.

I woke up to the sun rays seeping through the windows. I sat up and stretched. My back hurt because I'm not used to sleeping on the floor.

I looked around and saw Pyxis still asleep. She looks peaceful. Some strands of her hair is tumbling down her face and her lips slightly parted. I turned away from her. What is this girl doing to me? I repeatedly bumped my head on my fists.

"Hey, Draco. Are you alright?" Pyxis said. I just noticed that she's already awake and looking at me worryingly. Maybe she thinks I'm going crazy.

"Yes. Just a minor headache." I lied.

"Really? It looks like you want to rip your head off." She sat beside me. "Here, let me help." She began massaging my head. It's still relaxing even if I don't have a headache.

"Better?"

I don't know what came to me but I suddenly leaned in towards her. Our foreheads were almost touching. My grey eyes met her green. I saw her blush under my stare making me smirk.

"Pyxis Raine Steller."

"W-what?"

"I like your second name better, Raine. I'll call you that from now on. Do you mind if I sleep some more?"

"Sure, go ahead. Use the couch, much more comfortable there." I obeyed and lay on the couch and turned away from her; I can still smell her scent on the pillow—lavender.

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Pyxis

Okay, what just happened?

First I massaged Draco's head then he just suddenly leaned close to me. And said he likes my second name. I really don't mind but its Draco Malfoy we're talking about. I didn't really know he could be so... kind. Come to think of it. He didn't really do anything mean. He even taught me how to ride a broom. Well, seeing as only up to the fourth book is released, maybe he'll change on the next one?

I let out a sigh and fixed Draco's makeshift bed, returning it to its proper place. I looked inside the satchel Narcissa gave me. There's Hogwarts: A History, one more black cloak, 2 changes of clothes, other personal necessities and a couple of galleons.

I took a change of clothes and went to the bathroom. I showered and changed. I combed my hair and put it on a fishtail braid that goes to my left shoulder to cover my birthmark.

I went out the small bathroom and sat on the floor. I pulled out Hogwarts: A History from my bag and began reading it while humming a song.

"Well, you sure are noisy." I heard Draco say after –I looked at the clock on the wall – 15 minutes.

"Oh I'm so sorry, Draco. Did I wake you?"

"Yes." I was about to apologize again when he added, "But I didn't mind." I don't know why but that simple statement made my cheeks heat up. Luckily, he wasn't looking.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, turning to me.

"I hadn't eaten much at dinner." He was about to go down, probably to get food, but I stopped him.

"Let me go." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"They don't know me. We have less chances of being found." I explained.

He said what he wanted and handed me a couple of galleons. I went out and quickly grabbed our food and went back. We began eating the moment I arrived. We were silent until I remembered something.

"Who do you think arrived at your house?"

"Maybe—" he didn't continue. I saw the hesitation in his eyes.

"Don't worry. You don't have to tell me about it." He stayed silent.

"I'm sorry for opening it up. I didn't mean to pry. I'm so st-" I was stopped by Draco's laugh. He actually laughed!

"Uhmm, why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that - You're blabbering. It's so adorable." He said that while laughing in between sentences.

"Okay," I awkwardly replied "I'll just continue eating and pretend that didn't happen"

He just laughed more.